FABRIZIO ROMANO: Arsenal about to make late shocking move as 24-year-old star player already agreed personal terms with Arsenal!! Medical set
Arsenal are creeping into position to sign Weston McKennie, with CBS journalist Ben Jacobs suggesting that they could make a late move to sign him.
The Gunners have been busy throughout the January window as they have already moved to bring in Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior.
Mikel Arteta will be keen to ensure his squad is well-equipped for what looks set to be a massive second-half of the campaign for Arsenal.
While Arsenal have addressed a couple of key areas within their side, they are still lacking a quality option in midfield behind Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka.
Corriere dello Sport reports that the north London outfit are interested in signing Juventus and USMNT midfielder McKennie.
The 24-year-old has been linked with a switch to Leeds United but Jacobs suggests Arsenal could yet make a late move to sign him.
Arsenal could make late move for McKennie
“This one is going to be really interesting. Leeds have already agreed broad personal terms with Weston McKennie. Nothing is signed,” Jacobs told The Football Terrace.
“Arsenal have crept into the conversation a little bit later. We know Arsenal would be in the market for a midfielder for sure, Thomas Partey [editor correction: Mohamed Elneny] is injured.
“And the beauty of McKennie is that he can play anywhere really, if you go back to the early part of his career he has been a winger, forward and now a midfielder.
“McKennie as I understand it has been biding his time and waiting, because the agent has basically said I can get you a move to a Premier League club, you’re just going to have to wait because you might be – in Arsenal’s case – not a priority or a first choice earlier in the window, but something might come off.
“It’s not surprising to me that McKennie is taking this down to the wire so from Leeds perspective they need to be very, very quick now because there is – with his agent in London – a fair chance that Arsenal could come to the fore.
“For now, at the time of speaking, any Arsenal approach has only been formative and on the agents side, there has been no direct contact with Juventus but that could all change in the next few days because at this stage of the window if Arsenal decide to move they are going to have to be very fast.
“But Leeds are in direct talks with Juventus at the moment and their confidence comes from the fact that Jesse Marsch has spoken to Weston McKennie and him and Tyler Adams play together really effectively for the US national team. That is what Jesse Marsch likes and Tyler Adams has been involved as well.”
McKennie has been described as an ‘excellent’ box-to-box midfielder and he certainly impressed for the USMNT at the World Cup.
Arsenal may decide that they need an extra man in midfield, with Mohamed Elneny sidelined and Albert Sambi Lokonga the only back-up option right now.
The Juventus star has struggled for game time under Massimiliano Allegri this season but he has proven he can play at the very top level.
The Gunners will seemingly need to bring in a midfielder before next week’s deadline as it could prove costly if Partey or Xhaka pick up an injury over the course of the season.
